174 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MDSEDM. 



Scales finely ciliated, exteudiug onto the bases of the 

 caudal and pectoral tins. No enlarged axillary ventral scale. 

 Lateral line a little arched anteriorly, thence straight to the 

 base of the caudal ; it is formed of simple tubules. 



Dorsal tin originating behind the vertical of the ventrals : 

 its spines are slender, the fourth the longest, the others 

 decreasing evenly backward ; anterior ray subequal iu length 

 to the last spine, the others becoming shorter backward to 

 the penultimate one, the last being produced. Third anal 

 spine longest, a little shorter than the first ray ; soft anal 

 similar to the dorsal. Pectoral falcate, the fifth ray longest, 

 not quite reaching the vertical of the vent. Anterior ventral 

 ray produced, not reaching quite so far back as the pectorals. 

 Caudal deeply forked. 



Colour. — Pearly pink above, silveiy below ; the basal part 

 of each scale of the back and sides bluish, the margin golden. 

 Upper part of head deep pink, preorbital and snout violet 

 pink, the whole stencilled with small yellow and blue lines. 

 Spinous dorsal hyaline blue basally with ill-defined yellow 

 vermiculating lines on the membrane ; upper half of the fin 

 hyaline pink, changing to yellow towards the margin ; the 

 markings of the soft dorsal are similar, but the yellow 

 vermiculations change into two rows of orange spots 

 posteriorly. Caudal light pink, the outer rays darker. 

 Pectoral pale yellow. Ventrals and anal white. Iris golden. 



Described from two specimens 390-410 mm. long, measured 

 from the snout to the end of the middle caudal rays. They 

 are perhaps identical with A. viicrolepis, Bleeker,*' from 

 which they differ principally in having the eye much smaller 

 and the preorbital broader. These characters doubtless alter 

 with age, and as my specimens are much lai'ger than those 

 described by Bleeker, they perhaps represent merely the 

 adult form of his species. 



Loc. — Both these specimens were secured by Inspector 

 Smithers in the city fish markets, whence they were dis- 

 patched from Byron Bay, New South Wales. 



•i Bleeker — Atlas Ichth., viii., 1876-77, p. 78, pi. cccxxxvi., fig. 5. 



